Six Hundred Quizzes And Other Gallimaufry

Answer: DC

CC is 200. There is no BC or FC. In binary, 600 is 01001011000.

Answer: The Simpsons

"The Simpsons" was an animated show that first broadcast in the USA in its own right in December 1989.

The 600th episode was "Treehouse of Horror XXVII" and was aired on October 16, 2016. The show went on to achieve several longevity records.

Meanwhile, rumour has it that someone who has been living in a cave in Outer Mongolian for 40 years has never heard of the antics of Homer, Marge, Maggie, Lisa or the other one. D'oh!

British born singer Judith Owen wrote the song. She had previously appeared on the show, and was married to "Simpsons" actor Harry Shearer.

Answer: Battle of Balaclava

The Battle of Balaclava occurred in October 1854 in the Crimean War between Russia and Great Britain. Although the exploits of the British have long been lauded, it ended in a Russian battle victory.

Poetic licence was used by Alfred, Lord Tennyson in saying there were 600 members of the British Light Brigade of cavalry, in fact there were 676. In all 107 men were killed, 187 wounded, 50 captured, and 400 horses slaughtered. (Some sources use different numbers.)

The Light Brigade achieved their early objective of taking the Russian heavy guns, but a charge by Russian Cavalry - with an 11-1 numeral advantage - defeated the British.

Historians have long debated how the charge came about. A common accusation was that Lord Raglan had been to blame in ordering the Light Brigade (literally lightly armed men on smaller horses) to charge to prevent the Russians removing captured guns. However an account by a survivor threw a different light, claiming that a messenger from Raglan urged the Light Brigade to charge different guns - Russian guns - that then fired on the charging horsemen from three sides. That messenger was one of the first killed.

Answer: NASCAR

The event was first run in 1960 and was traditionally a feature of the Sunday events over the Memorial Day weekend in May. Originally known as the 'World 600', it took place at at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.

It became the longest race in the NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) series.

Answer: Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Thought to have been located near the royal palace in Babylon, the gardens were a series of terraces.

No trace exists in the modern world, but we know about the gardens from contemporary writing. Several accounts have survived and their descriptions concur. Trees and shrubs were said to hang from a number of balconies.

Answer: Rwanda

In the 1990s, Rwanda in east central Africa was the setting for one of the bloodiest genocides in recent history. Also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, probably 800,000 members of this minority population were murdered by the Hutu ethnic majority.

Tensions between the peoples of the country had not been far from the surface even before its independence from Belgium in 1962. Three years earlier a Hutu revolution had caused a third of a million Tutsi to flee. In 1990, a force representing exiled Tutsi invaded Rwanda from Uganda. After the murder and withdrawal of Belgian peacekeepers, mass blood-letting ensued. In just three months it is estimated that 800,000 Tutsi were murdered, on the direct orders of the Hutu authorities.

The movie told the story of a battalion of Tutsi soldiers who held out against the massacre and eventually broke free from overwhelming opposition soldiers and rescued many civilians. The movie won awards in several countries.

Answer: Spirit of America

Actually there were several Spirit of Americas. On November 15 1965, Breedlove recorded 600.601 in a four-wheel 'car' powered by a jet engine from an F-4 Phantom II. That record stood until 1970.

The Beach Boys wrote and recorded the song "Spirit of America" about Breedlove and his exploits.

(In 1997, the British ThrustSSC became the first car to officially break the sound barrier with a speed of 763mph.)

Answer: Gordie Howe

Gordie Howe reached that milestone in November 1965 and went on to score 801 goals. He played at the highest level of the game for 26 years and was aged 52 when he retired in 1980.

The three wrong answers were also members of the '600-goal club'.

Answer: Pope Gregory The Great

The clue here was the word "pontificated". Pedantically, only a pope can "pontificate".

Born in 540AD, Gregory was part of a family that had already provided two heads of the Roman Catholic Church. He was made pope in 574.

His tenure was marked by public compassion and a vast deal of political knowledge. A prolific writer, he also sent missionaries out into the wider world. His great works made him a quick candidate for canonisation, which was declared soon after his death in 604AD.

Answer: Babe Ruth

Ruth hit his 600th home run in August 1932 and went on to total 714.

This question is a bit of a gimme for anyone who knows nothing about baseball - but reckons" Babe Ruth" or "Joe DiMaggio" are usually worth a punt.

George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in February 1895. He made his Major League Baseball debut on July 11, 1914 for the Boston Red Sox against the Cleveland Naps.

His career had started with the Baltimore Oriels in the intermediate league in April 1913, and the Baltimore Sun described him as "a sterling southpaw who (was) a terror to the big league clubs."

He was quickly sold to the Boston Red Sox. In his 22-year career, he hit 714 home runs for a .690 average.

In an article '10 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time' for "Encyclopaedia Britannica" Adam Augustyn put him at number one, adding:" Not only was Ruth the greatest baseball player of all time, but he was the most important one too."